Cabinet having reversible doors and panels and hardware therefor



June 1, 1965 o. D. MERILLAT CABINET HAVING REVERSIBLE DOORS AND PANELS AND HARDWARE THEREFOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 1. 1961 INVENTOR.

ORVILLE D. MERILLAT AT TORNEYS June 1965 o. D. MERILLAT 3,186,027

CABINET HAVING REVERSIBLE DOORS AND PANELS AND HARDWARE THEREFOR Filed Aug. 1, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 59 IN VEN TOR.

ORVILLE D. MERILLAT 327/ 33 34 e IT- ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,186,027 CABINET HAVEJG REVERSIBLE DQORS AND PANELS AND HARDWARE THEREFOR Orville D. Merillat, 780 Harkness Drive, Adrian, Mich. Filed Aug. 1, 1961, Ser. No. 128,415 3 Claims. (Cl. 16170) The present invention is directed to reversible hardware, and more particularly to hinges and brackets for cabinets. The hardware of the invention is particularly useful on cabinets having doors and panels with a difierent design or color on opposed surfaces whereby the appearance of the cabinet may be selectively altered by reversing the doors and panels.

A cabinet having access openings, drawers and vents customarily has doors for covering the access openings and matching panels, such as vent covers and drawer fronts, for covering the vents and drawers. The exposed surfaces of the doors and panels may be the same as the visible surfaces of the remainder of the cabinet or they may contrast. For example, the cabinets may be of various kinds of wood, such as maple, birch, walnut or cherry, whilethe doors and panels may be either a matching or a contrasting wood. Also the surfaces of the cabinets, doors and panels may be covered by painting with either a matching or a contrasting colored paint or by adhering a variety of materials to these surfaces.

At times it may be necessary or desirable to selectively alter the appearance of the cabinet by changing the exposed surfaces of the doors and panels. Inasmuch as it is both impractical and expensive to replace these parts of the cabinet with different parts, doors and panels having opposed surfaces finished with contrasting woods and the like are used, and the appearance is changed by reversing these parts. Such reversible doors and panels also decrease the inventory that must be maintained to supply a given number of cabinets.

A panel such as a drawer front or a vent cover is customarily mounted directly on the drawer or cabinet surface by screws or the panel may be so mounted with suitable brackets. However, both of these mounting means mark the unexposed surface of the panel, and undesirable holes and scratches are visible if the panel is reversed to expose a different surface.

A door hinge customarily has a standing member that is fastened on the door frame adjacent the door opening and a swinging member that is secured to the surface of the door. Means, such as pins and the like, are provided to pivotally connect the standing member to the swinging member.

An example of a hinge having such a construction is the conventional butt hinge of which two types are made; a right-hand swinging type and a left-hand swinging type. At the time the door is mounted the direction of swing is determined by the type of butt hinge that is used to hang the door. The direction of swing of such a hinge cannot be altered nor can the exposed surface ofrthe door be changed.

Various hinges have been proposed which selectively enable the door to swing either right or left. However, the swinging part of each of these hinges is secured to a surface of the door in the conventional manner thereby preventing the exposed surface of the door to be selectively altered to change the appearance of the cabinet.

It is, therefore, the object of the present invention to provide hardware for 'a cabinet that enables exposed surfaces of the doors and panels thereon to be selectively altered.

Another object of the invention is to provide a two-part hinge having a swinging member secured to the edge of the door for selectively altering the exposed surface of the 3,l36,27 Patented June 1, 1965 door without changing the direction of the swing of the door.

A further object of the invention is to provide cabinet hardware which is inexpensively manufactured and readily installed.

Other objects of the invention will be apparent from the following specification and from the drawings wherein like numbers are used throughout to identify like parts.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cabinet having doors, drawer fronts and vent panels mounted thereon by means of the hardware of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a horizontal sectional view taken along the line 22 of FIG. 1 showing a hinge of the present invention in the closed position;

FIG. 3 is a horizontal sectional view taken along the line 33 of FIG. 1 showing a hinge of the present invention in the open position;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a hinge constructed in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 5 is a horizontal sectional View taken along the line S-5 in FIG. 1 showing the construction of a typical door that is mounted on the cabinet;

FIG. 6 is a horizontal sectional view taken along the line 6-6 in FIG. 1 showing the construction of a bracket utilized to mount a drawer front on a drawer carried by the cabinet;

FIG. 7 is a horizontal sectional view taken along the line 7-7 in FIG. 1 showing the construction of the bracket used to mount a vent cover on the front of the cabinet;

FIG. 8 is a horizontal sectional view taken along the line 88 in FIG. 1 showing an alternate embodiment of the hard-ware utilized to mount the vent cover on the cabinet;

FIG. 9 is a horizontal sectional view taken along the line 99 in FIG. 1 showing the construction of a bracket utilized to mount a door strike plate on a cabinet door; and

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of a strike plate mounting bracket which includes a door handle.

In order to achieve the above objects of the invention, there is provided improved hardware for mounting the doors and panels such as drawer fronts and vent covers on the cabinet including reversible hinges which enable the doors to be selectively reversed as well as brackets which enable the panels to be selectively reversed. Each item of hardware is secured to an edge of the adjacent door or panel, and the opposed surfaces of these cabinet parts are in no way marked or defaced.

Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to FIG. 1, there is shown a typical cabinet 2%) which utilizes the hardware of the present invention. In a customary installation, the cabinet 20 may be located in a kitchen adjacent a sink 211, and a plurality of openings are provided along the'front of the cabinet. For exam ple, an opening such as indicated at 22 provides access to shelves and other storage space while another opening indicated at 23 provides access to the plumbing and storage area beneath the sink 21.

A typical cabinet 20 may also have a drawer 24 shown in FIG. 6 while a vent is customarily provided in the front of the cabinet below the sink 21 to enable air to be circulated thereunder. A door 25 is used to cover the opening 22 While a similar door 26 coversthe opening 23. A door 27 mates with the door 25 andcovers an opening similar to the opening 22 for access to a storage area on the opposite side of a jamb 28 shown in FIGS. 1 and 9. Likewise a door 29 shown in FIGS. 1 and 5. mates with the door as and covers an opening similar to the opening 23. The doors 26 and 29 abut against a jamb 28' that is similar to the jamb 28.

The doors 25, 26, 27 and 29 are substantially identical, and FIG. illustrates a typical door construction. For the most pleasing aesthetic appearance, these doors are flush mounted so that very little of the mounting hardware is visible, especially when the door is closed. Because the doors 25, 26, 27 and 29 are flush mounted they should be as light as possible in order to minimize the size of the mounting hardware, and this is accomplished by utilizing a sandwich type construction comprising spaced skins 30 and 31 that are laminated to a core 32 surrounded by a frame 33. The skins 31 and 32' are wood such as birch, maple, walnut or cherry and preferably have a natural finish. However, the skins 31 and 32may be painted or they may comprise veneer of a plastic finishing material. The core 32 has a low density and is preferably of a foamed plastic material. However, a honeycomb structure ofpaper or the like as well as balsa wood can be used. The frame 33 is preferably of wood and the exposed peripheral edge has a groove 34 for receiving the mounting hardware and for facilitating gripping during the opening of the door.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 to 4, a pair of reversible hinges 35 is provided for pivotally mounting each door 25, 26, 27 and 29 on the cabinet 2% for swinging movement along an arcuate path from a closed position illustrated by the doors 27 and 29 in FIG. 1 and the door 27 shown in FIG. 2 to an open position illustrated by the door 26 in FIGS. 1 and 3. Each hinge 35 comprises a metal standing member 36 attached to the cabinet and a nylon swinging member 37 that is mounted on the door.

Each standing member 36 includes a generally rectangular base indicated at 38 that extends along the door casing in engagement therewith. A pair of countersunk holes 39 are provided in the base 38 for receiving suitable attaching screws 40 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. A lip 41 is formed .on the end of the base 38 toward the opening that is covered by the adjacent closed door, and a similar lip 42 is formed on the opposite end of the base 38. The lips 41 and 42 protrude from the surface of the base 38 which engages the cabinet 20 and enable the standing member 36 to be more firmly secured to the door casing when the screws 40 are tightened by entering the door casing as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. The standing member 36 further includes an arm indicated at 43 which extends from the same end of the base 38 as the lip 42 but on the opposite side thereof. The arm 43 includes a first straight portion 44 that is connected to a second straight portion 45 by a curved portion 46. The second straight portion 45 is offset from the first straight portion 44 in a direction towards the lip 41, and a recess or groove is formed between the base 38 and the second straight portion 45 adjacent the first straight portion 44 as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4. The cen tral portion of the outermost edge of the second straight portion 45 opposite the curved portion 46 is notched at 47, and a pair of barrels 48 are formed on this outer edge on either side of the notch 47 as shown in FIG. 4. An opening 49 extends through each barrel 48, and the openings 49 are aligned on either side of the notch 47.

The swinging member 37 is curved as shown in FIG. 4, and the convex surface thereof has a configuration which mates with the configuration of the groove 34 in each of the doors 25, 26, 27 and 29 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. The swinging member 37 has a generally tubular barrel portion 50 and 50' at each end thereof as shown in FIG. 4 with an aperture 51 extending through each barrel portion. A countersunk hole 52 is formed in the central portion of the swinging member 37 midway between the spaced apertures 51 as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4 to receive a suitable screw 53 which secures the swinging member 37 to the frame 33 in the groove 34 with the spaced apertures 51 adjacent the spaced skins 30 and 31.

A hinge pin 54 is selectively positioned in the aligned holes 49 of the standing member 36 and one of the apertures 51 in the swinging member 37 when its respective barrel 50 is positioned in the notch 47. When the door is in the closed position as illustrated in FIG. 2 and the dotted lines in FIG. 3, the barrel portion 50 of the swinging member 37 which does not engage the pin 54 is received within the recess formed in the standing member 36 between the base 38 and the curved portion 46. As the door swings along the arcuate path indicated by the arrow in FIG. 3, this barrel portion 50' moves outwardly from the recess and away from the cabinet 20 as indicated by the full lines. 7

An important feature of the present invention is that the hinge pin 54 is selectively removable from the aligned openings 49 and the aperture 51 in the barrel portion 50 in the notch 47. This enables the swinging member 37 to be removed from the standing member 36 which, in turn, enables the doors 25, 26, 27 and 29 to be selectively reversed and the opposite barrel portion 50' inserted in the notch 47 for repositioning the pin 54. When the doors are so reversed, they are still swingable through the same arcuate path from the closed position illustrated by doors 27 and 29 in FIG. 1 to the open position illustrated by the door 26.

Referring now to FIG. 9, the door 27 is retained in its normal position covering its respective opening by a catch 55 that is secured to the jamb 28. The catch 55 may be either a magnetic type or a mechanical type, and an identical catch 55' is mounted on the opposite side of the jamb 28 in the opening 22 for retaining the door 25 in its normal closed position. Similar catches are mounted on the jamb 28' for retaining the doors 26 and 29 in the closed position. A member 56 such as a strike is carried by the door 27 for engagement with the catch 55, and similar strikes are provided for engaging the other door catches.

Another important feature of the invention is the provision of means for selectively mounting the strikes on their respective doors in one position wherein each strike extends from the inwardly directed Surface of a first skin when the door is in the closed position with a second skin exposed and in another position extending from the surface of the second skin when the door is reversed and the first skin is exposed. As shown in FIG. 9, this means comprises a reversible support 57 mounted on the door 27 while an identical support 57' is mounted on the door 25 as shown in FIG. 1. Similar supports are likewise mounted on the doors 26 and 29.

The support 57 is an extrusion which includes an elongated portion 58 having one end secured to the strike 56 in any suitable manner and a contoured portion 59 which extends angularly from the elongated portion 58 at the opposite end thereof from the strike 56 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 9. The convex surface of the contoured portion 59 has a configuration which mates with the configuration of the groove 34 in the door 27, and the configurations of the curved portions of the supports on the other doors likewise mate with the configurations of the grooves in the edges of each door. The contoured port1on 59 is selectively attached to the frame 33 between the skins 30 and 31 by a screw 60 which passes through a suitable hole in the center of the contoured portion 59. The fiat surface of the elongated portion 58 opposite the strike 56 is smooth and engages the exterior surface on the door 27, but this smooth, fiat surface does not mark the door surface. When the door 27 is reversed on its hinges 35 as previously described, the support 57 is removed from the door 27 by removing the screw 60, and re-assembled thereto after the door 27 is reversed by positioning the support 57 in such a manner that the elongated portion 58 extends along the opposite door surface. The screw 60 is then re-inserted in the same hole in the frame 33 and is tightened to draw the contoured portion 59 into the groove 34.

In the preferred embodiment very little of the hardware on the doors 25, 26, 27 and 29 is visible when the doors are in their normal closed position, and the absence of protruding parts such as door handles or drawer pulls minimizes the danger of snagging clothing. The cabinet also has a pleasing appearance and is readily cleaned while the doors are easily opened by gripping the edges in the grooves 34.

' In some installations, however, it may be necessary to provide a door handle, and a support 61 as shown in FIG. is substituted for the support 57 shown in FIGS. 1 and 9. The support 61 of this alternate embodiment is an extrusionwhichcomprises an elongated portion 62 which mounts a strike 56 at one end thereof, and the elongated portion62 is identical with the elongated portion 58 of the support 57. Extending outwardly from the opposite surface of the'elongated portion 62 from the strike 56 is a contoured portion 63 that is substantially the same as the contoured portion 59 of the support 57, and this contoured portion 63 is located at the opposite end of the elongated portion 62 from the strike 56. A suitable handle 64'of any desired configuration is formed on the end of the contoured portion 63 opposite the elongated portion 62.

Referring now to FIG. 6, a panel in the form of a drawer front 65 is removably secured to the drawer 24. The structure of the drawer front 65 is identical with that of doors 25, 26, 27 and 29 in that it utilizes a sandwich type construction. The drawer front 65 comprises spaced skins 66 and 67 that are laminated to a core 68 surrounded by'a frame 69. The skins 66 and 67 are the same material as the door skins 30 and 31, and the skin 66 matches the door skin 30 while the skin 67 matches the door skin 31.

Still another important feature of the invention is the provision of a bracket 70 for selectively mounting the drawer front 65 with the surface of the skin 67 exposed when the door is mounted in its normal closed position with the surface of the skin 31 exposed. The bracket 78 further enables the drawer fronts 65 to be mounted with the surface of the skin 66 exposed when the cabinet doors 25, 26, 27 and 29 are mounted in the reverse position with the surface of the skins 38 exposed.

As shown in FIG. 6, the support 70 is an extrusion which includes an elongated portion 71 which extends along the inwardly directed skin of the drawer front 65 .that faces the drawer 24 and has a flat, smooth surface that engages the surface of the skin but does not mark it. A lip 72 is formed on the innermost end of the elongated portion 71 while a tab 73 likewise protrudes from the central area of the elongated portion 71. The lip 72 extends in the direction of the drawer 24 and engages the foremost edge of a side wall 74 of the drawer 24. The distance between the inner surface of the lip 72 and the facing surface of the tab 73 is equal to the thickness of the side wall 74, and the tab '73 extends along the outer surface of the sidewall 74. Another lip 75 on the end of the tab 73 extends toward the lip 72 and is received within a suitable groove in the outer surface of the side wall 74. The bracket '70 is rigidly secured to the side wall 74 of the drawer 24 by a screw 76 that extends through a suitable opening in the tab 73.

The bracket 70 further includes a contoured portion 77 on the opposite end of the elongated portion 71 from the lip 72. The convex surface of the contoured portion 77 has a configuration which mates with a groove 78 that extends around the periphery of the frame 69. The bracket 70 is removably secured to the frame 69 in the groove '78 by a screw 79 that passes through a centrally disposed hole in the contoured portion 77.

When the doors 25, 26, 27 and 29 are reversed on their respective hinges 35 as previously described, the drawer front 65 is likewise reversed so that the mating skins are exposed. This is accomplished by removing the screw 79 from the frame 69 and sliding the drawer front 65 in a direction parallel to the elongated portion 71 with the contoured portion 77 in the groove 78 until the panel slides free. The drawer front is then reversed and re-inserted between the brackets 70 on the drawer 24 and is moved therealong with the contoured portion 77 in the groove 78 until the centrally disposed aperture is aligned with the hole for the screw 79 in the frame 69. The screw 79 is then tightened in the frame 69 to secure the bracket 78 to the drawer front 65.

A vent cover 80 is flush mounted over the sink vent above the doors 26 and 29 as shown in FIG. 1. The structure of the vent cover 80 is substantially identical with that of the drawer front 65 and utilizes a sandwich type construction. As shown in FIG. 7, the vent cover 80 comprises a pair of spaced skins 81 and 82 that are laminated to a low density core 83 surrounded by a frame 84 having a groove 85 around its peripheral edge. The skins 81 and 82 match the skins 66 and 67 on the drawer front 65 and the skins 30 and 31 on the doors 25, 26, 27 and 29, and when the doors and drawer front are reversed as previously described the vent cover 80 is likewise reversed to expose a matching surface.

An extruded bracket 86 located at each end of the vent cover 80 is utilized to reversibly mount the vent cover. The bracket 86 comprises a flat plate 87 having one surface for engaging the cabinet 28 adjacent the vent and an opposite surface for engaging one of the spaced skins 81 and 82. The plate 87 is rigidly secured to the panel 20 by a screw 88 which extends through a centrally disposed, countersunk hole in the plate 87. A contoured arm 89 extends from one end of the plate '87, and the convex surface of this arm has a configuration which mates with the groove 85 in the frame 84. The arm 89 is secured to the frame 84 by a slidable screw 98 that extends through a centrally disposed aperture therein.

The vent cover 80 is reversed in the same manner as the drawer front 65. That is, the screw 90 is removed from the frame 84 and the vent cover 80 is moved in a direction parallel to the plate 87 as the arm 89 slides in the groove 85. After the vent cover 80 is reversed, the curved arm 89 is re-inserted in the groove 85 and the vent cover 80 is moved therealong until the aperture in the curved arm 89 is in alignment with the screw-receiving hole in theframe 84. Thereupon the screw 90' is reinserted in the frame 84 and tightened.

In certain installations the screw 90 on the end of the vent cover 80 may be inaccessible. For example, if the cabinet 28 were located in a corner where a wall extended along the back and one side of the sink 21, it would be difiicult to remove the vent cover 80 from the bracket nearest the wall. In such installations an alternate embodiment shown in FIG. 8 is utilized, and in this embodiment the vent cover 80 is secured to the cabinet 20 by a bracket 91 in the form of an extrusion comprising a relatively flat plate 92 which is similar to the plate 87 but has a lip 93 that extends into the vent opening. A screw 94 passes through a centrally disposed hole in lip 93 and secures the bracket 91 to the cabinet 20. A curved arm 95 which is identical with the curved arm 89 of the bracket 86 extends outwardly from the opposite end of the plate 92 from the lip 93 and is secured to the vent cover 80 by a screw 90 as previously described in connection with the bracket 86.

Access to the screw 94 is provided through the opening 23 that is closed by the door 26 as shown in FIG. l. When it becomes necessary to reverse the cover 80, the screw 94 is removed enabling the vent cover 80 to be rotated away from the cabinet 20 about the bracket 86 at the opposite end when the screw 98 is removed therefrom. After the vent cover 80 has been removed from the cabinet 20 the screw 90' is removed from the frame 84 and the curved arm 95 is removed from the groove 85. The bracket 91 is then reversed and the curved arm 95 is reinserted in the groove 85 and tightened thereagainst by the screw 90'. The lip 93 is then re-inserted in the vent opening and mounted therein by the screw 94.

While various embodiments of the hardware are shown, it will be appreciated that further modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the 'subjoined claims. For example, while the reversible hinges are illustrated as used for flush mounting lightweight doors on a kitchen cabinet, these hinges may be used to mount doors on closets and storage cabinets, both inside and outside.

I claim:

1. A reversible hinge for flush mounting a lightweight door on a door casing, said hinge comprising a swinging member for engaging an edge of said door and having a pair of spaced apertures formed thereimeach aperture extending through one end of said swinging member, and a standing member having a base for engaging said casing and an arm for pivotally supporting said swinging member for movement along a curved path, said arm extend ing outwardly from one end of said base and having aligned openings along the outermost edge thereof, and a pin selectively receivable within said aligned openings and one of said spaced apertures whereby said swinging member may be reversed and pivotally supported by said arm for movement along the same curved path by positioning said pin in the other of said spaced apertures.

2. A reversible hinge as in claim 1, and at least one lip extending from said base on the opposite side thereof from said arm, said lip being etfective to firmly secure said hinge to said door casing by entering engagment with said casing.

3. A reversible hinge as in claim 1, wherein said arm comprises a first straight portion extending outwardly from said base and a second straight portion'ofiset from said first straight portion and connected thereto by a curved portion, said aligned openings being formed on the edge of said second straight portion opposite said curved portion, one of said apertures being receivable between said curved portion and said base when said pin is positioned in said aligned openings and the other of said spaced apertures.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 27,788 4/60 Fayman 16-170 317,701 5/85 Aston 16-170 2,003,059 5/35 Teller 312-324 2,192,862 3/40 Eagley 312-257 2,286,976 6/42 Roberts 189-88 2,620,521 12/52 Fleet 20-35 2,660,766 12/53 Petterson 20-35 2,748,420 6/56 Clover 16-170 2,954,253 9/60 Teetor 292-2515 3,009,725 11/61 Koch 292-2515 3,034,184 5/62 Lindstrom 189-88 X 3,066,004 11/62 Engelbrecht 312-330 X FOREIGN PATENTS 871,898 7/61 Great Britain.

FRANK B. SHERRY, Primary Examiner. CHANCELLOR E. HARRIS, Examiner. 

1. A REVERSIBLE HINGE FOR FLUSH MOUNTING A LIGHTWEIGHT DOOR ON A DOOR CASING, SAID HINGE COMPRISING A SWINGING MEMBER FOR ENGAGING AN EDGE OF SAID DOOR AND HAVING A PAIR OF SPACED APERTURES FORMED THEREIN, EACH APERTURE EXTENDING THROUGH ONE END OF SAID SWINGING MEMBER, AND A STANDING MEMBER HAVING A BASE FOR ENGAGING SAID CASING AND AN ARM FOR PIVOTALLY SUPPORTING SAID SWINGING MEMBER FOR MOVEMENT ALONG A CURVED PATH, SAID ARM EXTENDING OUTWARDLY FROM ONE END OF SAID BASE AND HAVING ALIGNED OPENINGS ALONG THE OUTERMOST EDGE THEREOF, AND A PIN SELECTIVELY RECEIVABLE WITHIN SAID ALIGNED OPENINGS AND ONE OF SAID SPACED APERTURES WHEREBY SAID SWINGING MEMBER MAY BE REVERSED AND PIVOTALLY SUPPORTED BY SAID ARM FOR MOVEMENT ALONG THE SAME CURVED PATH BY POSITIONING SAID PIN IN THE OTHER OF SAID SPACED APERTURES. 